Singapore – – November 01, 2026 -- Thunes now routes instant cross-border payouts of up to $10,000 per recipient per day to UnionPay cards in mainland China, covering 79 major banks, after deepening its alliance with UnionPay International (UPI).

Single API connects Thunes' network to UPI

The integration links Thunes' Direct Global Network to UPI through one API. Financial institutions, payment service providers and money transfer operators in the Thunes network can send real-time consumer payouts without high setup costs, strict eligibility hurdles or ongoing technical maintenance, according to the company.

Higher daily limit targets a long-standing remittance bottleneck

Cross-border remittances into mainland China have been constrained by low daily transaction caps. Senders had to split larger personal transfers across several days or endure complex manual processing.

Thunes has built UPI's increased daily payment limit into its payout rails. Network members can now process compliant transfers of up to $10,000 per recipient cardholder in a single daily transaction.

Payouts reach cardholders at 79 banks, including ICBC and BOC

Covered institutions include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of Communications (BOCOM) and China Merchants Bank (CMB). Key expansion corridors are Africa, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA.

Thunes cites official UPI partner status for compliance

Thunes describes itself as an officially recognised strategic partner of UPI. It says its Pay-to-Card route into mainland China eliminates system outage risks, unauthorized routing and service disruptions.

Chloé Mayenobe, Deputy CEO at Thunes, said the higher transaction limits support member growth and let financial institutions scale cross-border flows into China "with unmatched speed and compliance."